A variety of "short" skis have been developed for clamping onto boots and for providing a sliding surface much shorter than standard length skis. Generally, such skis are longer than the length of the boots but shorter than regulation skis for ease of carrying and backpacking, for emergency descent, or simply for recreational use. For example, the Fleckenstein U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,046 describes a "short ski" longer than the length of a ski boot for "hotdogging" and fancy skiing. The short skis are fitted with regular ski boot bindings. The Fleckenstein short ski therefore bears resemblance to a "scaled down" ski. Another short ski for stunt skiing is described in the Gauer U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,291. A disadvantage of such short skis is that the ski length may still be difficult to manage in small packs during carrying, and the binding is bulky and heavy.
Shorter skis or ski like surfaces for attachment to boots are also described, for example, in the U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 205,186, the Davies et al. U.S. Pat. No. 1,886,650, the Corbisiero U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,571, the Koblick U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,355, the MacDonald U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,047, the Hunsbedt U.S. Pat. No. 2,946,599 and the Westphal U.S. Pat. No. 2,154,019. Such devices are sometimes referred to as "snow skates" or "ice skis". A disadvantage of these short ski configuration attachments is that they do not appear suited for rough terrain with a tough and durable construction. Furthermore the bindings do not appear capable of withstanding the applied forces that may occur on steep slopes or rough terrain.
Marty Keller, Inc. of Golden, Colo. manufactures a short ski, longer than the length of the ski boot with a simple stiff wire binding on the toe and heel. Similarly, this stiff wire clamp binding does not appear suitable for matching the forces that may be applied on the ski boot and boot attachment ski device during downhill skiing and sliding travel.